[rac43]

Well, need advise again guys. I found a really good deal on a set of these WP S/R Torquer heads to replace my 882's These heads have 1.94 intake, 1.50 exhaust, 170cc runners, 58cc chambers. Made for a 305 but I have a 76 355 with flat top pistons and a 222/222 GM cam. Do you think these heads will help or hurt my HP in this 355. I will soon be running a Edelbrock RPM intake with my Edel. 650 Thunder carb. These heads are like new, display only and made for pre 79's like mine. My 882s have been worked and have 2.02/1.65 valves but after reading the flow rate for these heads, they look like they would work better on a 2 ton truck. Lack of $ keeps me for going for the $1k
heads. I really like the looks and rep of the World Product heads. What do you guys think????

[onovakind67]

Your compression ratio will be about 10.7:1 with the 58cc heads, probably a little much for a cam with 222°/222° duration on pump gas.

[Old Yeller 1970]

I agree the combustion chambers are too small. Also, the S/R stands for stock replacement meaning you don't gain much if anything over a good set of 882's with the larger valves. Chevy High Performance has all the flow numbers if you want to check it out. http://chevyhiperformance.com/techar...98/index4.html

[rac43]

Thanks guys. Can you recommend a good head I can use to replace these 882's? I discribed my set-up above and need to keep my compression under 10-1. Do you think it would be worth my expense to replace these 882's and if so which heads under $900 would work well for me?
Thanks a bunch

[Old Yeller 1970]

Your best bet is probably a set of Edelbrock Performer RPM heads. Jeg's lists them for $980 a pair. They have 70cc combustion chambers which will work with your current set up. That's the cheapest I know of that will work with your engine and boost your performance.

As far as it being worth the expense, that's a fairly subjective question. The RPM Heads will raise your compresion ratio about 1/2 a point which is always better and since they are Al you can keep running 87 octane. They will flow a lot better than the 882's so you should notice a significant difference in the power.

Will the extra power to be worth $980? That's a question I can't answer. It depends on how deep your pockets are and how bad is your need for speed.

[Mustangsaly]

http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html

what about this combo 4 ?

Combo comes from page 39 of the February 1989 issue of Hot Rod Magazine. All four combos use the 383 cu. in. engine with rebuilt GM heads and Holley 750 double pumper. These combos show the difference between some intakes and heads.

Combo 4 uses an Edelbrock Performer intake and a 280° cam. The power and torque numbers are pretty good.
Displacement: 383 cu. in.
Carburetor: Holley 750 double pumper
Heads: GM #441 castings, 76cc chambers, 2.02/1.60 in. valves, pocket ported
Intake: Edelbrock Performer
Camshaft: Comp Cams 280° Magnum hydraulic, with 280/280° of duration, 230/230° of duration @ 0.050 in. lift, and 0.480/0.480 in. lift
Rockers: 1.5:1
Headers: 1 5/8 in. street
Pistons: TRW forged
Rods: 5.565 in.
Crank: cast
Comp. Ratio: 9.3:1

MAX HP: 382 @ 5300
MAX Torque: 400 @ 4500

[cool rockin daddy]

It all depends on what power you are looking for. The World S/R heads will have a more modern port than any factory head. Do you have some 441 GM castings laying around that you can use? If not, buy the time you buy a used set, bring them up to snuff with re-conditioning, you will have almost as much invested as new heads. If you go for any kind of porting you will be equal to or over what new heads will cost. I would look for a used set of Vortecs (modern ports and chambers) and put the beehive valve springs to they don't need to be machined to accommodate high valve lift. You would need a vortec manifold though. What I would really do is invest in new Dart S/S heads or Iron Eagle 180 heads. Modern ports and chambers. I believe you can get them complete on E-bay for about 600-700 bucks.

[Old Yeller 1970]

rac43,
According to Chevy High Performance the Dart Iron Eagle SS 165 heads flow worse than the 882's but the combustion chamber size will probably work with your combo.

Vortec heads flow the best of the bunch but with the small combustion chambers the compression ratio would be way to high.

The 441 castings are great for making torque but they are strangling the top end potential of the 383 in Mustansaly's example.

The Dart Iron Eagle 180's would work best. The intake flow is about the same as the 882's but the exhaust is a lot better which would really help with your single pattern cam. I'm guessing the 72cc chambers would put your compression ratio around 9.0:1. If you know your current ratio I can tell you for sure. And at least the Iron Eagle 180's would fit your budget.

[sbchevfreak]

You could try a set of World Sportsman II, The have a 200 cc intake runner, and the 72 cc chamber is availiable. Qutoe from their site:

SB Chevrolet Sportsman II Cast Iron Cylinder Heads
Material: High density cast iron
Valve Seats: Integral intake, hardened steel exhaust
Valve Guides: Integral cast iron
Valve Spring Seats: Machined for 1.250/1.550" springs (stepped)
Valve Size: 2.020" x 1.600"
Rocker Arm Studs: Screw-in style (3/8" in Dash-1, 7/16" in Dash-2)
Accessory Flange: Stock locations. 7-bolt universal pattern
Included In Assembly: Manley Street Flo (-1 models), RaceMaster (-2 models) forged stainless steel valves with swirl-polished heads, ring & band-style seals), valve springs, Manley 7° chrome moly retainers, keepers and guide plates
Recommended Installation Items:
Head Gaskets: Fel-Pro #1003 (265-350) - #1004 (400) or equivalent
Pushrods: Requires heat-treated pushrods. Use of 1.6 ratio
rocker arms requires elongation of pushrod holes.
Spark Plugs: Accepts 14mm .460" reach tapered seat 5/8" hex
Champion #670 or #802 - or equivalent)
Intake Gasket: Fel-Pro #1205 or equivalent
Exhaust Gasket: Fel-Pro #1404 or equivalent

[rac43]

Originally Posted by sbchevfreak

You could try a set of World Sportsman II, The have a 200 cc intake runner, and the 72 cc chamber is availiable. Qutoe from their site:

Hi sbchevfreak, thanks and I really like the specs on these WS 11 heads. I found a good set with 68cc chamber and the 200 cc intake runners for a great price. Do you think these heads would drive my combustion up very much? I have about 9-1 now.

[Old Yeller 1970]

If you have 9:1 now the 68cc heads will put you at 9.78:1. I seriously doubt if it would be streetable on pump gas.

Since you are already close to 9:1 you won't be able to run anything much smaller than a 76 cc head. You might get away with a 74 cc head which would put you at 9.18:1. 72cc heads would yield 9.37:1.

But some where in there your going to run into detonation. The 222 cam will bleed off some cylinder pressure but with iron heads you can't go real high on the compression ratio.

[Mustangsaly]

theres several 441 76cc combos on http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html page and having a fresh set of 441s on my shelf with 3 angle valve job and ported & polished with some bigger valves 2" stainless intakes ad 1.60 exhaust stainless valves (if I remember correctly) & gasket matched, comp springs and retainers & screw in studs ect. (I bought/traded a holley & a hei that all needed rebuilt but was not junk either, and the heads were fresh done, we swaped for $150 and parts) they been on the shelf for a yr & a 1/2 now and I'm going to use em. I know there not the best and I would not send a set to the machine shop either,

I would buy something like a set of aftermarket heads or vortecs, depending on what I was building, but really even camel humps aren't worth the machine work/money unless you need em for the look or # matching setup. and in the back of my mind I've thought for this next build in the 87 Suburban if I can buy a set of runable vortecs from the salvage yard I might. vortecs would work on this Suburban project, and I know vortecs are not the best for every application and some aftermarkets are a better choice for some bigger performance builds. a good friend I grew up with is in the office in a salvage yard, so I get some fair deals.

Mustangsaly

[Blazin72]

I have Sportsman IIs and have been running about 9.8:1 compression for about six years now on 92 octane with no problems...

You have to remember that the modern combustion chamber designs can tolerate somewhat more compression than those on the older heads.

[rac43]

Thanks to all that replyed to this post. Do you think I would just be better of switching to Vortec heads? With my 222/222 cam, would I be able to get away with getting smaller 68-72cc heads? I could use a thicker gasket to get my compression down by about .5. Please give me your advice.

[Old Yeller 1970]

Vortec heads only come with 64cc chambers, so I really don't think that's an option.

The Dart Iron Eagle 180's with 72cc chambers would give you about a 9.37:1 ratio. With your 222 cam and 92 octane you might be in the money.